Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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149. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps being taken by his Department to diversify and increase tourism potential from other countries outside of Great Britain and the United States; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22678/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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It should be noted that Tourism is now the policy responsibility of my colleague, Peter Burke TD, to whom statutory responsibility for the sector will transfer by Government Order in the coming weeks.

The Government recognises the central importance of the tourism sector to Ireland's economy and communities. In that context, the Programme for Government sets out the Government's ambitious plans to strengthen and enhance the tourism sector

The tourism agencies, Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, have several initiatives to ensure the tourism industry continues to grow. This is being supported by over €246 million in Government funding.

Tourism Ireland, the organisation responsible for promoting the island of Ireland overseas as a leading holiday destination, is focused on driving demand through its extensive global marketing campaigns from high-impact advertising and digital promotions to compelling travel documentaries.

Next month, Tourism Ireland will be launching a new slow tourism campaign in overseas markets focused on helping people get around the regions and explore the island.

Tourism Ireland is active in more than 13 key markets across Great Britain, USA, Canada, mainland Europe (nine markets across Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordic region, Austria and Switzerland) and Australia. Tourism Ireland will continue to take an agile approach in the development of strategic partnership activity to maximise opportunities for growth in new and developing overseas markets. The agency actively showcases compelling reasons to visit Ireland, anchored in data as to what is most compelling for today’s visitors.

In addition, Tourism Ireland works closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs to help deliver on commitments in the Global Ireland strategy and the agency's Global Opportunities Team continue to monitor the outbound market as it evolves and manage qualified opportunities across Asia where there are significant benefits to Irish tourism.

Tourism Ireland will also play an appropriate role as part of Team Ireland at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, in the context of exploring global opportunities for inbound tourism.

Tourism Ireland works closely with air and sea partners, as well overseas travel trade partners, to support access and drive bookings, ensuring that the island of Ireland can compete as a ‘must-visit’ destination.

The tourism agencies will also be working to maximise the tourism potential of sporting events such as the hosting of the Open at Royal Portrush in July, the American College Football Classic in the Aviva Stadium in August and the NFL game in Croke Park later in the autumn. All these events will provide a global exposure of Ireland to those planning a holiday.

On 29 April, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke TD launched Business Events 2030 – Ireland's new business events strategy. Business Events 2030 will promote the development of our world-class business events sector and realise the full economic benefits of business events for Ireland.

The business events strategy will promote opportunities for Ireland to host international conferences and attract key stakeholders and thought leaders to Ireland enhancing Ireland’s reputation. By bringing major international association conferences and corporate meetings to Ireland, this can support Ireland’s economic growth, fostering knowledge exchange and encouraging foreign investment.

This Government is committed to growing Ireland’s tourism industry and, through support for Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland, we will continue to showcase Ireland internationally as a high-quality and accessible holiday and business events destination.